MAHNKE - Inside Marine

MAHNKE

COMBATTING CORROSION

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CORROSION

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COMBATTING

MAHNKE

The name Mahnke has been ever-present in the world of vulcanisation (the processes for hardening rubbers) since 1921. Today, the company’s varied products can be found in a wide variety of industries. As Jordan Yallop discovered, one of the most recent markets Mahnke has ventured into is the maritime sector, where the company’s many specialist corrosion resistant coatings are proving essential in this industry.

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eter Mahnke GmbH, based in Kalübbe, Germany, enjoys a stellar reputation within the vulcanisation industry. The company was founded by Peter Mahnke together with his sister Evelin Mahnke-Vock in 1970 with the aim of fully focusing on the vulcanisation techniques for the industrial sector. Previous to this, the name Mahnke was primarily focused on the repair of car tyres and despite the difficulties presented by the socioeconomic factors of the time, the business built by Friedrich Mahnke thrived and became a well-known company.

The 1950’s saw a shift in production, whereby the company’s previous specialisation in tyres was being replaced due to more demand for industrial applications.

These two areas of production originally took place simultaneously, but as time pro-

gressed, the industrial applications sector was growing. The subsequent decades were characterised by continued growth of the company and by economic success, and two years later, Peter Mahnke GmbH was founded.

Today, the company’s customers include various businesses ranging from chemical, energy, heavy industry and shipyards.

Janosch Mahnke, Managing Director, talked about why the company has delved into the maritime sector: “We started in a new business field in 1990 called surface protection, which provides rubber linings that protect against corrosion.

“This new business avenue opened up our company to the maritime sector, and today we supply the rubber lining of the cooling systems on board vessels.

The rubber lining serves as this corrosion protection inside the whole cooling systems pipeline.”

The mission to protect Mahnke currently has three facilities – in Hamburg, Rostock and Kalübbe – with the latter being the company’s main manufacturing facility where the production of the products destined for the maritime sector are also handled. The 79 employeestrong business has a manufacturing area of around 3,000 sqm which constructs the various products that range from conveyer belts, corrosion protection coating and cargo hatch cover seals.

The company’s workshop, which employs modern technology such as blasting plants, autoclaves and Unimog systems, underwent expansion in 2019.

“We expanded our main location in Kalübbe by adding another manufac-

turing hall in order to be able to meet the increasing demand for products utilised in the offshore industry,” said Janosch Mahnke.

Mahnke produces a number of modern conveyer belt technologies and this area of manufacture accounts for a large portion of the company’s output. The other main area is its surface protection; the reliability of these corrosion resistant solutions comes from Mahnke’s many years of experience and extensive laboratory testing. The company prides itself on using an individual analysis method when supplying its products. The type of surface that needs to be protected is examined so Mahnke can advise customers on precisely what type of protection is most suitable for their needs.

This process ensures that the protection medium that is chosen is the most efficient one available. The company offers various

types which include soft rubber lining, hard rubber lining, Coroflake, PU surface protection and Flexthane.

Due to rubber linings having excellent chemical and corrosion resistance, this type of surface protection sees widespread use in the maritime industry. To this end, Mahnke has developed Remaclave 60 ISO/803, a product specially engineered with a two-layer lining of 2mm hard and 3mm soft rubber. This product’s high resistance to chlorinated and oily seawater makes it ideal for use in shipbuilding as a protection for seawater carrying pipes and is used by many renowned shipping companies. To date, Mahnke estimates it has lined over 25,000m of pipe on 50 separate vessels with Remaclave.

“Remaclave is our best-selling product for rubber lining due to its use in seawater carrying pipelines in cruise ships. This product gives us a combination of the

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advantages of hard rubber lining and the advantages of soft rubber lining,” said Janosch Mahnke.

The king of service As with all the company’s products, a strict quality assurance system is in place to ensure that all products and solutions are installed with a consistent high quality.

Mahnke is the sole supplier of rubber lined pipes to all major German shipyards and there are currently over 300 ships worldwide with rubber lined pipes installed by Mahnke. These solutions are not just limited to maritime functionality; they also have applications in power stations, waste incineration, chemical and offshore settings.

Mahnke’s marine portfolio also includes hatch seals for sea-going vessels. These seals are offered at both an excellent quality and a great price point.

Another area that Mahnke operates in is wear protection. This area adds lifespan to items that can endure wear and tear as part of their daily operation or transportation. Mahnke tailors this service individually to each application, and as such, the solutions can solve a range of problems form noise to caking.

Mr Mahnke was keen to highlight the company’s global, 24/7 customer service ethic approach.

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“We are doing on site repairs and such jobs all over the world,” he said. “So if a client calls us, we will send our supervisor or maybe a whole team in order to do the repair on site and this can be in Asia, America or Europe.”

Future proof products Thanks in part to Mahnke’s age and experience, the company enjoys long-term relationships with its suppliers. One of these is Rema Tip Top, a supplier of materials needed for the coatings and rubber linings which Mahnke produces. After being in business together for over 50 years, the two companies work closely together when such opportunities arise.

Mr Mahnke said: “We have the opportunity to use Rema Tip Top’s laboratory to analyse materials for chemical resistance on the rubber linings, or we are able to choose some tailored products; we can also choose the right lining for the plant or for the vessel.

“In addition, there is a long-standing and trusting cooperation with producers in the Asian region. The company San Run International Trade Co Ltd has established itself within the last 20 years as a trustworthy partner and supplier for the production of special rubber components in order to complete the

product portfolio. These cooperations are important to secure a firm position in the market.”

He added: “As a family business, we have maintained long-term customer relationships and because of this close contact to our customers and their plans, we can easily adapt our material and products to their current requirements.

This is a point where we can stand out from other companies.”

In light of current supply chain issues and a degree of uncertainty in the markets, Mr Mahnke expressed his optimism for the market due to the nature of the products –

they are always in demand. To emphasise this, he pointed out the company is seeing an increase in demand for products destined for both the offshore and renewable energy sectors – with the company making 2,000 rubber lined parts for clients in offshore wind power alone in 2021 – an increase of nearly 100%.

“We need to adapt to the new industries, such as green energy. Whatever problems will come to the industry we will find a way to deliver our corrosion protection, because corrosion will always be an issue that needs companies such as ours to resolve,” he concluded. n

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